Archive | August, 2014

Chukyo High of Gifu Prefecture finally beat Hiroshima’s Sotoku High, 3-0, in the 50th inning in the semifinals on Sunday. The national tournament is being held in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.

The game began on Thursday. Baseball games normally last 9 innings.

The pitchers on both teams had each thrown more than 600 balls before the suspended game was resumed on Sunday morning beginning in the 46th inning.

The Hiroshima city government on Sunday lifted evacuation advisories and orders issued for about 106,000 people in the mudslide-hit city.(Kyodo)A high school baseball game has ended in the 50th inning after being extended for 3 days. (NHK)India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The body of a Japanese man was found floating in the Hudson River last week and may have been shot in the head, according to the New York City Police Department and Consulate General of Japan in New York. (Japan Times)Police in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, said Saturday that at least 30 elementary schools received postcards this week, in which the sender threatened to kidnap a child. (Japan Today)The search continues for people missing in last week’s devastating landslides in western Japan. Officials have identified 72 bodies, but 2 people remain missing. (NHK)Novartis Pharma K.K. said it has failed to report to the health ministry at least 2,579 cases of serious side effects, including a fatality, from its drugs for leukemia and other diseases even though its employees were aware of the problems. (The Japan News)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)

The advisories and orders were lifted for the city’s Asakita Ward at 8 a.m., but those for about 44,000 others in neighboring Asaminami Ward remain in place due to a lack of safety measures for emergencies, city government officials said.

The city office may issue evacuation advisories and orders again, depending on rainfall conditions, they said.

#hiroshima TweetsThe Hiroshima city government on Sunday lifted evacuation advisories and orders issued for aboutಊ6,000 people in the mudslide-hit city.(Kyodo)A high school baseball game has ended in the 50th inning after being extended for 3 days. (NHK)India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)Media reports that Sanrio Co.’s popular character Hello Kitty is “not a cat” have swirled across the globe, following a U.S. newspaper story. (Jiji Press)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)The Hiroshima prefectural police department said Friday that it has identified all 72 people who have been confirmed dead so far in the massive landslides that hit the city of Hiroshima last week. (The Japan News)A yakuza boss convicted of three murders was executed by Japanese authorities Friday, a rare case of a member of the Japanese mafia receiving the death penalty. (Wall Street Journal)A 400-kilogram machine part fell into a nuclear fuel pool at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant Friday, the operator said. (Japan Today)

Yoshiaki Onoue, 53, was found floating in the water with a head wound near a riverfront park in the city’s West Village at around 7 p.m. on Aug. 21. He was pulled from the water by the NYPD and declared dead by paramedics.

According to the consulate general, Onoue had lived in New York for over 10 years. An acquaintance told Kyodo News that Onoue was a chef at a Japanese restaurant in the city.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The body of a Japanese man was found floating in the Hudson River last week and may have been shot in the head, according to the New York City Police Department and Consulate General of Japan in New York. (Japan Times)Police in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, said Saturday that at least 30 elementary schools received postcards this week, in which the sender threatened to kidnap a child. (Japan Today)The search continues for people missing in last week’s devastating landslides in western Japan. Officials have identified 72 bodies, but 2 people remain missing. (NHK)Novartis Pharma K.K. said it has failed to report to the health ministry at least 2,579 cases of serious side effects, including a fatality, from its drugs for leukemia and other diseases even though its employees were aware of the problems. (The Japan News)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)The Hiroshima prefectural police department said Friday that it has identified all 72 people who have been confirmed dead so far in the massive landslides that hit the city of Hiroshima last week. (The Japan News)A yakuza boss convicted of three murders was executed by Japanese authorities Friday, a rare case of a member of the Japanese mafia receiving the death penalty. (Wall Street Journal)

The event, showcasing local specialty goods and tourist attractions, was planned by 100 high school and university students mainly in the three hardest-hit prefectures in the northeastern region of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.

At the event site, balloons are raised to the heights that the deadly tsunami unleashed by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake reached when they hit Tohoku’s Pacific coastline on March 11, 2011.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)Media reports that Sanrio Co.’s popular character Hello Kitty is “not a cat” have swirled across the globe, following a U.S. newspaper story. (Jiji Press)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)The Hiroshima prefectural police department said Friday that it has identified all 72 people who have been confirmed dead so far in the massive landslides that hit the city of Hiroshima last week. (The Japan News)A yakuza boss convicted of three murders was executed by Japanese authorities Friday, a rare case of a member of the Japanese mafia receiving the death penalty. (Wall Street Journal)A 400-kilogram machine part fell into a nuclear fuel pool at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant Friday, the operator said. (Japan Today)Members of a United Nations committee examining ethnic discrimination have urged Japan’s government to impose legal restrictions on hate speech against Korean residents in Japan. (NHK)Two more people were said to have contracted dengue fever in Japan on Thursday, a day after the government said it had confirmed the first local infection of the disease in nearly 70 years. (Nikkei)

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry unveiled the plan at Friday’s meeting of broadcast industry officials and experts.

The trial start of 4K broadcasting on BS channels will be brought forward by four years from the initially planned 2020.

The full start will be in 2018, when FIFA World Cup soccer finals will be held in Russia.

In June this year, Japan launched the world’s first test 4K broadcasts, on communications satellite TV channels of Sky Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)Media reports that Sanrio Co.’s popular character Hello Kitty is “not a cat” have swirled across the globe, following a U.S. newspaper story. (Jiji Press)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)The Hiroshima prefectural police department said Friday that it has identified all 72 people who have been confirmed dead so far in the massive landslides that hit the city of Hiroshima last week. (The Japan News)A yakuza boss convicted of three murders was executed by Japanese authorities Friday, a rare case of a member of the Japanese mafia receiving the death penalty. (Wall Street Journal)A 400-kilogram machine part fell into a nuclear fuel pool at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant Friday, the operator said. (Japan Today)Members of a United Nations committee examining ethnic discrimination have urged Japan’s government to impose legal restrictions on hate speech against Korean residents in Japan. (NHK)Two more people were said to have contracted dengue fever in Japan on Thursday, a day after the government said it had confirmed the first local infection of the disease in nearly 70 years. (Nikkei)

The Los Angeles Times published an article online Tuesday saying the Japanese character goods maker insists Hello Kitty is not a cat but a girl. In its official Web site, Sanrio says Hello Kitty is a cheerful, kind girl as tall as “five apples” and as heavy as “three apples.”

The report by the leading U.S. daily has created chaos on the Internet, with many fans in the world complaining that Hello Kitty should not be a human girl because “she has whiskers and a cat nose.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)Media reports that Sanrio Co.’s popular character Hello Kitty is “not a cat” have swirled across the globe, following a U.S. newspaper story. (Jiji Press)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)The Hiroshima prefectural police department said Friday that it has identified all 72 people who have been confirmed dead so far in the massive landslides that hit the city of Hiroshima last week. (The Japan News)A yakuza boss convicted of three murders was executed by Japanese authorities Friday, a rare case of a member of the Japanese mafia receiving the death penalty. (Wall Street Journal)A 400-kilogram machine part fell into a nuclear fuel pool at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant Friday, the operator said. (Japan Today)Members of a United Nations committee examining ethnic discrimination have urged Japan’s government to impose legal restrictions on hate speech against Korean residents in Japan. (NHK)Two more people were said to have contracted dengue fever in Japan on Thursday, a day after the government said it had confirmed the first local infection of the disease in nearly 70 years. (Nikkei)

At the Kyoto State Guest House, the 2 leaders took a walk in the Japanese garden and attended a ceremony for Kyoto and the Indian city of Varanasi to confirm plans to conclude a partnership agreement to strengthen ties.

The 2 leaders will hold a summit meeting in Tokyo. They are expected to discuss the creation of a bilateral ministerial forum on foreign policy and defense affairs and ways to improve the environment for promoting investment by Japanese firms in India.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began a 5-day tour of Japan on Saturday with an informal dinner in Kyoto with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (NHK)Media reports that Sanrio Co.’s popular character Hello Kitty is “not a cat” have swirled across the globe, following a U.S. newspaper story. (Jiji Press)The government plans to start ultrahigh-definition 4K and 8K television broadcasting on broadcast satellite TV channels on a trial basis in 2016 when the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and Paralympics will be held. (The Japan News)A two-day festival to highlight the charm of Japan’s Tohoku region started in a park in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday morning to help reconstruction of the region devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami some three years ago. (Jiji Press)The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday a set of guidelines for comprehensively promoting measures to reduce child poverty in Japan, which has grown into a serious problem in the advanced economy. (Jiji Press)The Hiroshima prefectural police department said Friday that it has identified all 72 people who have been confirmed dead so far in the massive landslides that hit the city of Hiroshima last week. (The Japan News)A yakuza boss convicted of three murders was executed by Japanese authorities Friday, a rare case of a member of the Japanese mafia receiving the death penalty. (Wall Street Journal)A ᑐ-kilogram machine part fell into a nuclear fuel pool at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant Friday, the operator said. (Japan Today)Members of a United Nations committee examining ethnic discrimination have urged Japan’s government to impose legal restrictions on hate speech against Korean residents in Japan. (NHK)Two more people were said to have contracted dengue fever in Japan on Thursday, a day after the government said it had confirmed the first local infection of the disease in nearly 70 years. (Nikkei)

The Padma, the Ganges and the Jamuna have taken away around 15 million hectares of land but returned only 53,000 hectares in the last four decades.

In other words, the country has lost to the three rivers around one 100,000 hectares or 1,000 square kilometres of arable land, which is more than the size of Dhaka city, according to a study of the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS).

River erosion has also been affecting 200,000 to 300,000 families each year with one third of them becoming destitute, said experts at a discussion organised by The Daily Star at its conference room yesterday.

The government doesn’t pay much attention to the issue, and the victims never get much help from the state to find an alternative livelihood, they said.

When chars emerge in the rivers where erosion is intense, social conflicts and violence become the way of life in the locality.

“The rivers erode valuable productive croplands or townships. But the chars that emerge in the rivers are sandy and not fertile. There should be a long-term planning to deal with river erosion and its victims,” said noted hydrologist Ainun Nishat.

Neither the government nor the development partners are eager to address the issue, he said.

If the erosion of banks of all rivers is taken into account, the figure would cross two 200,000 hectares, experts said.

In his presentation, CEGIS deputy executive director Maminul Haque Sarker said among the three rivers, the Jamuna devoured 90,367 hectares of land along both its banks but returned only 16,444 hectares.

“Most of the land has been lost to the Jamuna that has widened over the years. The river is five to 12 kilometres wide,��� said Maminul.

Croplands, houses, mosques, temples, roads, schools and offices have been lost to the Jamuna that flows through Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Tangail, Pabna and Manikganj.

Nishat said the Jamuna is a young river, and its erosion and accretion will continue. This means the river needs training, as there are communities and arable land on both its sides.

On resettlement of the victims, Nishat suggested establishing well-organised townships on river banks and protecting those.

The Ganges ate into 29,842 hectares of land in Nawabganj, Rajshahi, Natore, Kushtia, Pabna and Rajbari and returned 25,009 hectares.

At one point in Rajshahi, the Ganges has shifted nine kilometres from its original course, said Maminul.

The Padma eroded 33,229 hectares of land and returned 11,545 hectares in Manikganj, Rajbari, Faridpur, Dhaka, Munshiganj, Madaripur, Shariatpur and Chandpur, he said.

“In the 80s, erosion in those rivers was more intense than the present time,” he added.

Analysing satellite images, the CEGIS makes predictions on land erosion of the three major rivers at the start of monsoon every year. This year they predicted that around 3,600 hectares of land would be lost to the three rivers.

Shamsul Huda, executive director of the Association for Land Reforms and Development, said 200,000 to 300,000 people become victims of river erosion every year, and one third of them become destitute, losing all savings and properties.

“The government should have a long-term plan to resettle and rehabilitate the people,� he said.

Some 80 per cent of the 5 million acres of khas land (any land let out together with any building standing thereon) is illegally occupied mostly by political and social elites. And the government is not interested in implementing its policy of distributing khas land among landless people, he added.

Selim Bhuiyan, director general of the Water Resources Planning Organisation, said the Water Development Board sometimes has to work on political consideration and the work proves ineffective.

There are problems in getting funds released in time for building or repairing embankments, he added.

Ahead of a visit to Japan this weekend to boost India’s ties with Asia’s second-largest economy, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is tweeting up a storm – in Japanese, no less.

Modi, 63, tweeted in Japanese about his excitement over his five-day visit and meeting with Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

He is leading a delegation of top industrialists, including India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and biotech queen Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, on a trip that has both economic and security cooperation high on the agenda.

The Indian leader expressed admiration for the “scale of innovation” in Japan on his personal Twitter handle.

He also explained that “friends from Japan” had asked him to speak “directly” to the Japanese people. The tweets were also available in English.

“Am particularly excited to meet (PM Abe). I deeply respect his leadership and enjoy a warm relationship with him from previous meetings,” he said in one of eight tweets in Japanese.

In another, he said: “I see the Japan visit as an opportunity to take our ties with Japan to a new level and increase cooperation in various fields.”

Political ties between India and Japan have warmed in recent years as economic ties have also burgeoned.

Japan has been involved in major infrastructure projects in India with the metro in Delhi one of the most visible signs of that cooperation.

The two countries are also collaborating on the US$100 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor to link the political capital of Delhi to India’s financial capital.

During his visit, Modi is expected to push for progress in talks for Japanese firms to sell nuclear reactors and technology for plant parts to India.

He will also explore closer military and security cooperation.

According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the two sides will agree on a deal that will see Japan importing 2,000 tonnes of rare earths from India annually.

Tokyo is trying to reduce its dependence on China for the minerals crucial to making high-tech products such as smartphones.

Underscoring their personal rapport, Abe is travelling to Kyoto to welcome Modi and host a dinner for him tomorrow, ahead of their official talks in Tokyo on Monday.

There are “great expectations” from the visit, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin yesterday.

Ties between India and Japan, drawn closer by China’s growing assertiveness in the region, will benefit from the personal rapport between Modi and Abe, say analysts.

Modi visited Japan in 2012, while Mr Abe visited Gujarat in 2000, when Modi was its chief minister.

“Rapport is necessary at the highest level to clinch deals,” said Prof Srikanth Kondapalli of New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.